SINGAPORE, July 27 (Reuters) - Singapore's private home prices climbed 8.3 percent in April-June from the previous quarter to their highest level since the first quarter of 1998, government data showed on Friday.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said the price index for private residential homes rose to 147.8 for the second quarter, from 136.5 in the previous three-month period.

The second-quarter gain follows a 4.8 percent rise in the first three months of 2007, prompting concern about possible overheating in the real estate market.

Last week, the URA raised its re-zoning tax on developers, a move that's expected to slow the city-state's frenzied redevelopment.

The central bank said on Wednesday that it was increasingly concerned over the growing risk that rising property prices posed to the banking sector.

"The banking sector exposure to the property and construction sector is significant," said Heng Swee Keat, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

REUTERS

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